Machine for cutting or shearing metal sheets or plates.



PATENTED APR. 16., 1907.

SHERING METAL SHEETS 0R PLATES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 1o. 1904.

MAUHINBPOR CUTTING 0R slrllll-glllllus No. 850.611. EATENTED APE. 16,1907;

A K 'J. ABBOTT. MAGEINEEOE CUTTINGOE- SEEAEINE METAL SHEETS 0E PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED HAY. 10. 1964.

- PATENIED APR. 16, 1907.

- J. ABBOTT. MACHINE FOR'GUTTING 0R S'HEARING METAL SHEETS 0R PLATES.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY l0. 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THE Nanni: rsfrns co., wAsNINuTaN, n. c.

JAMES ABBOTT, OF NEWPORT, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING OR SHEAFHNG IVIETAL SHEETS OR PLATES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

atented April 16, 1907.

Application iiled May 10,1904. Serial No. 207,316.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES ABBOTT, a subject of His Majesty the King ofGreat Britain, and a resident of Daleside, Oaerau road, Newport, inMonmouthshire, England, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Machines for Cutting or Shearing Metal Sheets or Platesfor which I have made application for patent in Great Britain, No.22,867, dated October 22, 1903, and of which the following is aspecification.

My invention has reference to improvements in and in connection with themethod and means hitherto employed for cutting or shearing metal sheetsor plates, and comprises a new or improved machine therefor aving f orits objects to cut or shear up tin, copper, iron, steel,`or other metalsheets or plates in a more expeditious, efficient, and cheaper mannerthan has been possible hitherto, thus saving both time and labor andgreatly increasing the output of work as compared with the present usualmethod of shearing or cutting by hand, which besides being exceedinglycostly is more or less unsatisfactory generally.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation ofone form of apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig.2 is a plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation lookingfrom right to left of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation ofone of the circular knives or cutters,.illustrating how the same may bemounted upon its shaft or spindle. Fig. 5 is a side elevation viewedfrom left to right of Fig. 4. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively centralsectional and front elevations of a modified form of cutter. Figs. 8 and9 are respectively front and planview of a similar but modified form ofmachine to that illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

ln carrying my invention into effect l construct a suitable bed-plate,base, or the like A, which may be mounted in any convenient manner upona frame, table, or other suitable support, and on such base or bed plateA, or, if desired, any other foundation, are bolted or otherwiseconnected thereto a pair of base-plates or frames, such as B O,preferably disposed at right angles to each other and arranged at aconvenient distance apart in the manner suggested by Figs. 1 and 2. Toeach of such base-plates or frames B C are bolted, riveted, orotherwisesuitably rigidly connected one of a pair of vertical standardsor supports D E and F G, respectively,between each of which pairs ofstandards or the like and adapted to be suitably borne thereby aresituated a pair of rods or shafts H J and K L, each pair of such rods orshafts being for preference disposed one immediately above the other andhaving their one ends thereof projecting beyond the vertical standards DG, respectively, for the purpose of being arranged in connection withany suitable gearing, such as M, adapted in the usual wellknown mannerfor conveying motion to the said shafts or spindles from any convenientor available source of power. Upon each of the said rods or shafts H, J,K, and L are mounted a pair of circular knives or cutters N N, O O, P P,and R R, respectively, which said knives or cutters are preferablytightly fixed upon the said rods or shafts above referred to by mountinga parallel threaded and partly-split liner T' upon the shaft, upon whichliner are screwed a pair of split nuts V V', provided with recessedtapered surfaces W W', adapted to engage with each side, respectively,ofthe double tapered inner surface of a knife or cutter, such as N', andwhen screwed toward the latter operate to cause the liner T to grip, andthereby retain, such knife or cutter upon its rod or shaft, owing to thethreads of the lock-nuts imparting pressure upon the thread of the linerin the direction of the arrows, as illustrated by Fig. 4.

The knives or cutters N O, &c., may either be arranged with the cuttingedges formed directly by the outer periphery of same, as shown by Fig.4, or such cutting edges may for convenience of renewal be formedseparate, as illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7, wherein a separate ring X,comprising the cutting edge, is fixed on a cutter-block, such as N2, bya threaded ring X' screwed onto the cutter-block N2 and having its outerdiameter tapered, so as to wedge the cutting-ring X tight to the block.Grooves or recesses K2 are provided in the threaded ring X forpermitting a Spanner to engage therewith for tightening same. Obviouslythe threaded rings X' would have to be, respectively, right and leftthreaded for the top and bottom cutters to keep these from unscrewingwhen cutting, while the same means herein referred to IOO are clearlyapplicable for fiXing saine on the shaft.

Conveniently arranged at right angles or thereabout to the saidbase-plate B and the rods or shafts respectivelyborne by the standardsconnected thereto, as herein stated, are centrally provided a pair ofsuitable guides or like supports Z Z, bolted to and arranged upon eitherside of the base-plate B in a direct line with each other, substantiallyas shown by Figs. l, 2, and 3, and having formed in the upper surfacethereof a dovetail or other-shaped groove or recess a, adapted toreceive a suitable clip comprising a slide b, between the Walls c ofwhich an inclined piece d is arranged to move beneath a pin e, suchinclined piece when drawn back permitting a sheet or plate f to beplaced therebeneath upon the guide or support Z, as suggested by dottedoutline in Fig. 2, and be held and retained thereon on a forwardmovement of d, which causes this to grip the sheet or plate f, owing tothe inclined upper surface of d bearing against the pin e, a suitablestop g being provided at a convenient part of the guide or support Z Zfor implnging against the forward end of the slide (l and permitting thesaid sheet or plate to be automatically released therefrom at the momentthe cutting operation is completed, as hereinafter described. In a likemanner the base-plate is provided with similar guides or supports;

but as this portion of the apparatus is'designed to treat the length ofthe sheets a pair of guides or support Z r would preferably be arrangedat each side of the base-plate, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, and,if desired, in lieu of providing a clip or slide for each groove a inthe said guides or' supports a suitable traveling plate or like supportL, having dovetail webs t' upon its under surface for engaging with suchrecesses or grooves a', may be provided, in which case one central clipj, similar to that described with reference to the guides or supports ZZ, may be employed, although two or more may be used, if desired.

An arrangement of guides and traveling plate similar to Z Z and 7i maybe provided upon the base-plate B in lieu of the arrangement shown.

The before-mentioned circular knives or cutters are arranged upon thesaid rods or shafts for use in pairs, two knives or cutters beingmounted upon each shaft and each knife or cutter upon the one shaftbeing so arranged with relation to the knife or cutter upon the otherthat their cutting-faces are opposite to and in close proximity to eachother, as will be clearly understood by reference, for an eX* ample, tothe knives or cutters P P upon the upper shaft K and R R on L, thedistance between each pair of cutters l? R of K L and N O of H J beingregulated in the manner hereinbefore described, according to the size ofthe sheets or plates to be cut,

In practice, having adjusted the four pairs of cutters to their correctposition, the sheet or plate f (shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2) wouldin some cases be first placed upon the guide or support Z, clippedbeneath the inclined piece d, and be fed forward by the operator to theknives or cutters N O N O, which, receiving motion through the gearingM, wouldv out or shear off the edges of the width of said sheet or plateand automatically feed the same forward during such cutting or shearingoperation until the forward end of the slide b impinged against the stopg in the recess a of Z, whereat the clip being stopped from furthermotion the sheet or plate is forced out therefrom at the moment when thecutting or shearing operation at this point is completed. An attendantready to receive such sheet or plate would remove same from the guide Zand transfer and clip it lengthwise upon the table or plate 71 whereuponthe said traveling plate or table t would be similarly fed forward untilthe two pairs of cutters or knives P R commence to cut or shear the endsof such sheet or plate j' and, as before, operate to automatically feedforward and release the same at the finish of the operation, suchautomatic release of the plate being in this case attained by arrangingthe forward end of the inclined part of the clip y' to impinge againstthe rod or shaft K. In this manner by two operations-only of one machineboth the ends and sides of thc sheets or plates may be quickly andeasily cut or sheared off with a minimum of time and labor as comparedwith the methods and means hitherto employed for this purpose, andalthough l have described cutting the sides of the plates first and theends after it will be obvious that (and in some cases it may bedesirable) the ends may be cutoff first with or without arranging themachine especially for this purpose.

The slide l) of the clip device and the traveling table or plate h may,if desired, be provided with balance-weights or like means forautomatically returning said retaining and supporting devices to theiroriginal position at the finish of the cutting or shearing operation, assuggested in Figs. 8 and 9 and hereinafter referred to.

As a slight modification of my invention as so far described and for thepurposes of permitting two or more cutting operations simultaneously, lmay provide a plurality of pairs of such knives or cutters hereindescribed upon each pair of rods or shafts; but, for the sake of exampleand referring to Figs. 8 and 9, an arrangement of knives or cutters is'illustrated whereby one sheet or plate may be simultaneously trimmedand cut into three separate sheets or plates or two separate IOO IIO

sheets or plates may be simultaneously trimmed in the manner beforestated. l/Vith the exception that the base-plates B C are dispensed withand cross supporting plates or platforms k llc are substituted thereforand the vertical standards or supports may be additionally supported bya cross-bar Zthe machine represented by Figs. 8 and 9 is to all intentsand purposes substantially the same as that shown by Figs. l', 2, and 3,which latter may, if sodesired, be similarly arranged to Figs. 8 and 9,or vice versa.

Therefore in both constructions like parts are referred to by similarreference-letters. rfhe arrangement of the pairs of cutters N O beingthe same as before described, this part of the cutting or shearingoperation need not be again referred to; but upon the shafts or rods K Lare respectively provided a second air of cutters P and R, arranged withreation to each other similar to the cutters P and R, the cutting edgesof each pair being (for example) shown equidistant apart. Duplicaterecessed guides or supports Z2 Z3 are provided, each one of which ispreferably situated, as shown, between each double set of knives orcutters P R P R for conjointly supporting and retaining the sheet orplate lengthwise thereon, which latter when fed between the revolvingcutters is trimmed and cut thereby into three separate sheets or platessimultaneously. For permitting the slides l) and retaining devicesthereon to be returned to their original position automatically aftereach operation a cord or the like m maybe attached at one end to each ofsaid slides 'and passed over a suitable pulley n, borne by thebefore-mentioned guides Z Z2 Z and connected at its opposite end to asuitable balance-weight O, as shown in Fig. S.

As shown in Fig. 8, additional bearings or thrust-blocks, such as z, maybe suitably disposed and arranged upon the frame of the machine forpreventing undue strain of the rods or shafts.

If desired, live rollers maybe suitablyprovided, in any well-knownmanner, upon one guide or guides for automatically feeding the sheet orplate onto or up to the second guide or guides.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is#

1. A machine for cutting or shearing metal sheets or plates comprising asuitably-mounted base or bed having a pair of base-plates attachedthereto at right angles to each other,

each of said base-plates supporting a `pair of standards or supports,between which and borne thereby are arranged a pair of shafts situatedone above the other and having circular knives or cutters adjustablymounted thereon, with means for rotating said knives or cutters andsupporting and retaining the metal sheets or plates in position duringthe cutting or shearing operations, substantially as herein describedand shown;

2.' A machine for cutting or shearing up metal sheets or plates in twooperations, cornprising a suitably-mounted base or bed, havingbase-plates attached thereto at right angles to each other, one of saidbase-plates supporting a pair of standards between which and bornethereby are arranged a pair of shafts situated one above the other, andconnected by suitable gearing, and each having a pair of knives orcritters adjustably mounted thereon in suitable relation, one of saidbaseplates similarly supporting at right angles to the standards beforementioned a pair of standards forming bearings for a pair of shaftsarranged in like manner to the shafts carried by the other base-plate,and each having a pair of knives or cutters adjustably mounted thereonin suitable relation, each of said base-plates having connected theretovone or more pairs of guides or supports provided with traveling andretaining means for supporting and retaining the sheets or plates inposition-during thecutting or shearing operation, substantially as, andin the manner herein described and shown.

3. A machine for cutting or shearing up metal sheets or plates in twooperations, comprising a suitably-mounted base or bed A having duplicatepairs of standards or supports D E and F Gr directly attached thereto atright angles to each other, and respectively forming bearings for shaftsH J and K L connected to suitable gearing, the former pair of shafts H Jhaving respectively a pair of circu- 'lar knives or cutters N N, O O,adjustably mounted thereon in suitable relation, and the latter pair ofshafts K L, having respectively a plurality of pairs of circular knivesor cutters P R and P R adjustably mounted thereon in suitable relation,each said pairs of standards being provided with cross supporting platesor platforms 7c k respectively, upon each of which may be connected oneor more pairs of guides or supports Z Z or Z2 Z3 provided with travelingand retaining means for supporting and retaining the sheets or plates inposition during the cutting or shearing operations, the whole connected,combined, and operating substantially as and for the purposes hereindescribed and shown.

4. In the improved means for cutting or shearing metal sheets or plates,the combination therewith of means for adjustably mounting the circularknives or cutters upon their respective shafts, consisting ofapartlysplit parallel liner T externally threaded and adapted to receivea pair of split lock-nuts V V for tightly retaining a knife or cutter Nupon a rod or shaft, substantially as and in the manner herein describedand shown.

5. In the improved means herein set forth IIO for cutting or shearingmetal sheets or platesJ l quickly and easily removed and replaced by rothe. combination therewith of a circular a new one substantially asdescribed and knife or cutter consisting of a cutter-block shown. vhaving' a renewable cutting ring and a In testimony whereof I havehereunto set .5 threaded ring having its outer diameter tamy hand inpresence of two witnesses.

pered, Said threaded ring being adapted when JAMES ABBOTT. screwed ontosaid cutter-block to wedge said Witnesses: cutting-ring tight to theblock and when un- HENRY CONRAD HEIDE,

screwed to permit said cutting-ring to be ALBERT GEORGE BARNES.

